7th in a series on ANC's presidential youth forum at De La Salle University, Jan. 29, 2010

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MANILA , Philippines – Presidential candidate Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas vowed to go after President Arroyo if he wins in the May 10 elections, and called for a new kind of people power for the nation's growth and development. 

“I will go after Gloria through legal means,” he said at ABS-CBN News Channel’s (ANC) presidential youth forum at De La Salle University on Friday.
 
Perlas claimed Mrs. Arroyo is guilty of numerous acts of corruption.  “Pinahiya niya tayo (She has shamed us)," he said. 

The environmentalist also vowed to create a commission, with representatives from civil society and corruption-watch agencies, to boost the fight against graft.

“We must have a different kind of people’s power,” he told the students who attended the event. 

Perlas explained this new “people’s power” includes using people’s intelligence and strength in gathering evidence against Mrs. Arroyo.

He said it was time to elect not traditional politicians, but new leaders who are willing to bring about change in the country.

Perlas was earlier disqualified from the presidential race by the Commission on Elections, but his appeal was approved last January 14, 2010. (Read: Comelec declares 2 more presidential candidates)

Economic policies

Perlas said the Arroyo government has allowed foreigners to have long-term leases of the country's lands and natural resources. He also assailed questionable mining investments done by Chinese businessmen. 

Instead of giving priority to foreigners, he said the country should make use of its own resources and focus on labor-intensive economic sectors such as agriculture.

He said there has been no real agrarian reform in the Philippines. Ancestral domain titles have likewise not been awarded to the rightful individuals and communities.

Perlas batted for a stronger eco-tourism program to help create jobs. “This country is very beautiful, this country has so much wonders that people from countries can come,” he said. 

Eco-tourism would help Filipinos make use of their own resources and not depend on foreigners for employment, which is what is happening in the call center industry.

“We’re very entrepreneurial, creative tayo (we’re creative), I think it can be done” he said. 

In the call center industry, foreigners invest in the Philippines because they need customer service operators who are fluent in English.

The government thinks that through the call center industry, “we will have economic growth." However, Perlas said this growth is not being "equally distributed.” 

Overseas employment, language policy

Perlas also stressed the need to create “dignified employment” in the country so there would be no need for Filipinos to go abroad for work. 

He noted that the country’s Gini coefficient is 0.46, which means a relatively high level of income inequality. This means "the economy is growing, but at the same time, poverty is increasing."

Perlas also advocated child-centered learning, which means that during a child’s early stage of development, he or she should be taught in his regional language.

“Multi-linguistic tayo. I think in the earlier stage of a child's growth, it is more natural for the child to learn in the native language," he said.

As the child grows up, the child must be taught how to speak Filipino and then English.

He said that he does not want the method of instruction in the whole country to be “just English or just Tagalog.”

“In this age of globalization, we need to communicate with the world,” he said, stressing the need to learn English at a later age. 

In order to have a "sense of nationhood,” Perlas said Filipinos must be able to communicate with fellow Filipinos.